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On Saturday, July 19, I continued the promotion of my first CD, “Michael Closed the Bathroom Door.” This time, I shared my music live at the Farmer’s Market in downtown Urbana, IL. I can certainly say it was quite an experience to sing under the intermittent showers Illinois weather provided us with, hehehe.

I set up at 8:30a.m. and this is how my spot looked like before the first shower. Thanks to Lisa Bralts (Market Director) for all of her help. You really do a wonderful job, Lisa. I really enjoyed performing at the Market. Looking forward to the next one!!!

A bit later, my good friend Jeff showed up to share this time and I was able to introduce him to some of the customers that swung by. Jeff is an incredibly talented children’s poet and it is always fun to be around him.

Jeff took a few pictures of me performing and I decided to share my absolute favorite with ya’ll. He really captured how much I enjoyed being there and how much I enjoy the material on this CD!!!

It was also fun to share “How I Became a Blackbelt” with a martial artist that is on his way to becoming a blackbelt himself. Keep up the good work, amigo!!!

Thanks to ya’ll for stopping by, even if briefly, and for allowing me to share my music with your families!

On Friday, July 18, I officially released my first CD, “Michael Closed the Bathroom Door” at Real Hacienda, Mexican restaurant located in Champaign, IL. Here are some of the pictures from this memorable day in my musical career.

I want to thank the Rocha family for their unconditional support ever since I started playing at Real Hacienda back in October of 2005. My special thanks to Alfredo for the opportunity and for his friendship. In this picture, Alfredo is helping me celebrate the release of the new children’s CD!!!

Of course, I want to thank Jeff Mondak for believing in this project and making it a reality. Seriously, man, thanks for every fond memory this poetry-musical journey has brought us. In this picture, it was Jeff’s turn to strum the guitar!

Rick and Diana, thanks for listening and for purchasing the first copy of “Michael Closed the Bathroom Door”!!!

I really appreciate all customers from Real Hacienda that allow me to share with them the beautiful Mexican tradition of serenading people at their own tables while dining. Thanks for your support and words of encouragement!!! The crazy Mexican has ya’ll in his heart!

On April 24, 2008, I was traveling with my good friend Jeff Mondak to Baltimore, MD, for a children’s poetry and music presentation. We had a long layover at the Philly Airport and almost about to board our flight we ran into a very sweet kid (of Mexican descent by the way) whose eyes could not stop looking at my guitar case with so much curiosity… So, what could a crazy Mexican singer do? Nothing else but to start strumming right there!!! Yep, so there I was singing a few of Jeff’s tunes such as “Thoughts on a Rainy Day” and “The Toy Box Ate My Brother”!!! A few minutes later, some fellow passengers were singing along with me “Michael Closed the Bathroom Door.” In the meantime, Laura Pachucki (another passenger on the same flight to Baltimore), talented photographer and digital media artist, spontaneously took some pictures of the scene. The picture below is among my favorites and decided to share with ya’ll!